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Blogging by Gooners, for Gooners!Tue, 20 Feb 2018 10:39:49 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.3Victoria Concordia Crescit and Latin in English footballhttp://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?p=2215
http://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?p=2215#respondTue, 20 Feb 2018 10:32:57 +0000http://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?p=2215Every football fan will know that the crest is a vital part of any football club. Although they are used to identify clubs from one another, the badge represents the club’s history and has links to the area where the club is based.

The current Manchester City badge references the Mancunian ship symbol and the red rose of Lancashire. This is just one of many examples available in leagues such as the Premier League, a league which has multiple football betting odds available on match days.

Although it’s a rare occurrence, some clubs feature Latin mottos on their crests. For example, Everton feature the motto “Nil Satis Nisi Optimum” on their crest, which translates to “Nothing but the best is good enough”. This is just one badge of many throughout world football that still feature some sort of motto on their badges.

Although there is a lot of history in every football badge, quite a few clubs have recently been drastically redesigning their badge to make their ‘brand’ more recognisable worldwide. The most drastic redesign occurred a last year when Italian club Juventus revealed their new crest. For over 100 years almost all of Juventus badges featured an oval crest enclosing black stripes, and either a bull or zebra as the animal of choice. Juventus’ new stylised ‘J’ logo has angered many fans who question why the new crest is so radically different from previous logos.

Although other redesigns may not be as radical as Juventus’, there have been other designs that have removed key and important parts of the previous design – including club mottos. In 2002, we removed our “Victoria Concordia Crescit” motto which had been a key part of our crest for the previous 53 years. The board claimed the change was necessary for the club to move forward, but many fans were unable with the change and the removal of the Latin motto.

In recent seasons Everton removed their motto from the badge, but this was quickly reinstated the following season due to backlash from the fans.

If you’re a football fanatic then you’ll probably be familiar with a lot badges from different clubs all around the world. Every club has their own unique badge, and some of them feature some Latin mottos. Latin mottos may be a rare occurrence in the modern game, but if you’re familiar with football badge then you should perform fairly well in this quiz. Give it a try and see how many you can get correct?

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]]>http://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?feed=rss2&p=22150Arsenal’s Tendency to Quickly Lose Their Swagger is an Issue That Needs Resolvinghttp://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?p=2199
http://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?p=2199#respondMon, 12 Feb 2018 14:20:51 +0000http://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?p=2199Arsenal travelled to Wembley on February 10 to face Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham Hotspur side, with something of a swagger. The demolition job of Everton the previous weekend hadn’t cured all ills, but this was an Arsenal side with fresh blood, renewed vigour, and based on the 5-1 win over Everton, a strut that had been missing for quite some time.

The debut of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang gave Arsenal an irrepressible feel in attack. All speed and movement and of course a 37th-minute goal that might as well have been the 90th minute for Everton, such was the feeling of finality for the visitors’ afternoon.

But in midfield Arsenal were all-encompassing. Aaron Ramsey and Granit Xhaka were excellent, particularly Ramsey who scored the first hat-trick of his career. In front of them, Alex Iwobi’s solidity was complemented by new signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Mesut Ozil who looked like a new signing.

There is no better feeling for a player than to know he is wanted. And there is no greater endorsement than a £350,000-a-week contract. Ozil played with a fluency that if replicated regularly, would secure his legacy as a very fine Arsenal player.

In Mkhitaryan, Arsene Wenger has another player who appeared to be playing with new found freedom. The creator of three of his side’s goals against Everton, the former Manchester United player could do little wrong. In a new environment, the Armenian flourished. Weighted passing, acute crossing, and displaying innate craft in attack, who is to say Wenger had not got as good a side of the bargain as Jose Mourinho did.

Despite all this, though, Tottenham were still seen as the probable winners in the North London derby. With four points between the two sides before the game, a home win would have seen a pretty clear break between the top five and the rest of the Premier League. The caveat, of course, being that within that top five Manchester City are seemingly uncatchable, reflective in their odds-on favourite tags with the likes of William Hill.

But any certainty of a win for Pochettino’s side was challenged by the fact that on the previous nine occasions Arsenal had been at Wembley, they have won. Spurs, though, need not have panicked. The Everton win was not necessarily a false dawn, but against Spurs, they had the opportunities to at least equalize, but simply did not take them.

A fine headed goal by Harry Kane was enough to see Spurs win. If the first half lacked life, the second half was brimming with it. And it was Spurs who illustrated that for any excitement in the build-up following the debuts of Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan the week before, the reality of Spurs general superiority as a team was evident.

Spurs were deserving winners of the 195th derby meeting of the two sides, and it was a reality check for Arsenal. A Champions League place has not slipped completely from Arsenal’s grasp. But without a consistent run of high-quality performances, the 2018/19 season could see another stint in the Europa League.

]]>http://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?feed=rss2&p=21990Reports: Jack Wilshere set to accept pay cut [ £90,000 a week ] to seal new contracthttp://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?p=2196
http://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?p=2196#respondFri, 09 Feb 2018 11:01:58 +0000http://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?p=2196Arsenal have been handed some great news with reports emerging that Jack Wilshere is set to accept a new contract offer from the North London club despite being offered a pay cut.

The England international is due to be out of contract at the end of the season and would have been a big loss to Arsenal should he leave on a free transfer.

According to report garnered from the Telegraph, Wilshere look close to finally renewing his contract with Arsenal by putting pen to paper on a reduced wages to reflect his poor recent injury record, with Wilshere set to drop down to earning around £90,000 a week, though with the potential to still go back up to his current £110,000.

Tottenham Hotspur host Arsenal in the North London derby on Saturday (12:30pm). Looking for betting tips and match preview, click here for the best offers.

Wilshere’s new deal contract would be more positive news for the fans after what turned out to be a reasonably strong January transfer window, with Arsene Wenger doing brilliantly well in replacing Alexis Sanchez, Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan were brought in at the Emirates Stadium, while the Frenchman also managed to tie down star playmaker Mesut Ozil to a new contract.

The England international joining Ozil in extending his stay at the Emirates would be another significant boost for Arsenal as they need to keep what remains of the core of his squad together.

With plenty of recent changes to the team, Arsenal’s stability is important for the Gunners as they start to plan for next season already.

Wilshere has always looked a top class performer when fit, and he’s shown this season that the worst of his injury issues seem to be behind him.

]]>http://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?feed=rss2&p=21960Liverpool plot move for in-form £90,000-a-week Arsenal’s midfielder – reportshttp://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?p=2194
http://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?p=2194#respondMon, 05 Feb 2018 13:56:45 +0000http://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?p=2194According to Liam McCoy of http://www.footballhitz.com/ blog updated daily with Football News relating to top European football clubs has picked a report from The Sun that claims Liverpool are plotting a move to sign Arsenal’s and England international Jack Wilshere.

Liverpool are reportedly to move in for Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere for free in the summer if the England international fails to sign a new Arsenal contract, according to a report in The Sun.

The British tabloid claim that the England midfielder is currently locked in talks with Arsenal over renewing his contract that expires in the summer, and the North London club are set to offer him a new deal that would seem him earn less than his current £90,000-a-week wage.

The newspaper report that Reds boss Jurgen Klopp is a huge fan of Wilshere and that the Merseyside will make a move for Wilshere if he becomes a free agent as Klopp sees him as the ideal replacement for Emre Can.

Can, according to the report, is not expected to sign a new contract with Liverpool that would see him remain at Anfield beyond the summer, with Serie A champions Juventus keen on signing the Germany international.

Arsenal however, are expected to offer Wilshere a deal which will see him paid on appearances and performances due to his injury record, but Liverpool would be willing to match his current £90,000-a-week deal to secure his signature.

The strongly in-form 26-year-old midfielder has registered 26 appearances for Arsenal this season, netting two goals as well as notching five assists.

Wilshere will be a good move for Liverpool if they can get the midfielder on a free transfer. Klopp worked wonders with ex-Arsenal Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and if the German boss could help his former team-mate fulfill some of his potential, then his side would be better for his arrival.

Liverpool look set to lose Can this coming summer, so signing a replacement for free would be a smart piece of business for the club.

However, Wilshere doesn’t seem likely set to leave Arsenal despite the reported shortage of wages that would see him miss out on his current £90,000-a-week wage, it’s hard to imagine Wilshere choosing to leave the club.

He has always looked like having his heart fixed with Arsenal, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the 26-year-old opted to take a huge cut to his wages in order to make that dream come true.

]]>http://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?feed=rss2&p=21940A New Era Begins at Arsenal Without Alexis Sanchezhttp://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?p=2167
http://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?p=2167#respondSat, 27 Jan 2018 12:26:25 +0000http://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?p=2167Alexis Sanchez has finally moved to Manchester United and Arsene Wegner can now finally look ahead with a new generation of Gunners. The Sanchez drama begun a couple months back with the player refusing to sign a new contract while he received interesting offers from both United and Manchester City.

Initially it was thought Sanchez would be snatched by Barcelona after a meeting with Pep Guardiola got filtered to the media. In the end the devils got the player and Arsenal got Henrikh Mkhitaryan as part of the deal.

With the end of the deal Arsenal is beginning to show some form after beating Chelsea 2 – 1 in the second leg of the EFL Cup semifinals, despite some criticism. Next month they will face Manchester City to win yet again another local cup.

In an interview with Sky Sports Wenger said:

“Uncertainty gone. We lost a great player, but of course it’s true that when the team doesn’t know what’s going on, there’s less clarity and less focus on performances.”

“Now we know that we have to deal with that and we can get on by giving everyone a little bit more.”

In the game against Chelsea Granit Xhaka scored the deciding goal in the second half after Antonio Rudiger own goal ruined Eden Hazard’s first master piece opener.

Wenger was not happy with Arsenal’s first half accusing the squad of being too fearful and over-careful.

“We gave them too much respect, too much distance,” he said. “We were maybe too scared to go for it.

“We suffered from that. We weren’t in the right positions on the pitch in the first half, we rectified that and took control of the game in the second half.

“In the first half we watched them play a little and they strolled through our lines, but in the second half we were tighter. The midfield came in the game more and we started to dominate.”

There has been a fairly amount of criticism of how Arsenal played that first half, Antonio Conte, manager of Chelsea, blames the loss from getting “unlucky”, implying they should have won if some key moments had played out differently. Some people just don’t know how to lose. If your team losses against a rival that got slammed by the media for playing poorly, then how bad did you play?

This is one of those games live bettors make their day by nailing the key moments were the game turns around. While many may have thought Chelsea had the game deciphered by halftime, those who trust in Wegner’s ability to spin things around once he finds what is failing, had a perfect market to enter into a bet favoring Arsenal.

The pressure to score a goal on that second half was strong, the possibility of the gunners scoring at least one goal or leaving holes in their defense to allow Chelsea to secure the game was also high. This is when you need to take a look at real-time odds by going to this link http://sports.williamhill.com/bet/en-gb/realtime and snatching some great market prices.

]]>http://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?feed=rss2&p=21670Alexandre Lacazette praises Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez for his good start to Arsenal careerhttp://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?p=2156
http://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?p=2156#respondMon, 11 Dec 2017 19:26:46 +0000http://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?p=2156Alexandre Lacazette has praised the impacts of teammates Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez on the club’s official website following the Frenchman’s good start to his Arsenal career.

Lacazette became Arsenal’s record signing in the summer, and spoke highly of their chemistry on the pitch since his arrival at the Emirates in the summer.

Speaking to the Gunners website, Lacazette said: “For Mesut, it’s about passes, his vision of the game and passes.” On Sanchez, he said: “And for Alexis [Sanchez], perseverance. He always wants to go further, be stronger and rise higher. As well as being very fast, he always wants go even further.”

Speaking on both players and his relationship with them, Lacazette added: “I already get on very well with them in every day life. On the pitch, we’ve gotten to a point where we understand one another better, better than at the beginning.”

The France international will be hoping the pair extend their contracts, as both Sanchez and Ozil look set to face the exit door at the Emirates when their deals expire at the end of the season.

]]>http://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?feed=rss2&p=21560President confirms Arsenal will meet £53million to sign strikerhttp://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?p=2153
http://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?p=2153#respondSat, 02 Dec 2017 15:01:36 +0000http://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?p=2153Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is reportedly confident that he can offload Karim Benzema this summer as Arsenal are ready to pay as much as £53million for the transfer of the France international.

Benzema has struggled to find his best form the reigning European champions this season, but has generally been one of Europe’s top centre-forwards for much of the last season, winning three Champions League titles among other major honours at the Bernabeu.

He could be a great fit for the Gunners come at the time over Alexis Sanchez’s future, with the Daily Mirror recently reporting that oil-rich Paris Saint-Germain are steeping up their interest in the Chile international as he nears the end of his contract.

This would be a major blow for Arsenal, and Arsene Wenger would surely need to bring in a big name to the club to make up for Sanchez’s departure.

According to Spanish publication, Don Balon, Real Madrid believe Arsenal will come in for Benzema and pay as much as £53m to bring home to the Emirates Stadium to make the necessary additions to their attack next summer.

Arsenal have also been linked elsewhere with a move for Olympique Lyonnias attacking midfielder Nabil Fekir, with the Daily Star recently suggesting a £60million deal could be edging closer.

If both these claims are true, it looks like the Gunners fans can rest assured that Wenger is well prepared to replace Sanchez and fellow contract rebel Mesut Ozil next season.

]]>http://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?feed=rss2&p=21530Not impressive report: “Alexandre Lacazette will miss out a meeting with Jose Mourinho”http://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?p=2151
http://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?p=2151#respondThu, 30 Nov 2017 11:19:11 +0000http://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?p=2151Alexandre Lacazette picked up a groin injury against Huddersfield Town and will miss out a meeting with Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United side.

The France international striker was handed a starting role in our midweek meeting with Huddersfield Town.

Lacazette scored the opening goal in that contest inside three minutes, but was replaced by Olivier Giroud at half-time.

Arsene Wenger confirmed after a 5-0 mauling victory over the Terriers that the former Lyon striker had picked up a knock which will keep him out of a home date with Jose Mourinho’s side.

The French coach told reporters: “Lacazette has a groin problem and he will be out certainly for Saturday’s game.
“He might be out for a while.”

Lacazette has been in top form for Arsenal this season, and the Frenchman’s effort against Huddersfield was the seventh of his debut season at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal will, however, be forced to reshape the squad against Man United this Saturday.

Lacazette’s compatriot Olivier Giroud could be the man to get the nod in a central striking berth, with Giroud having stepped off the bench to bag a brace on Wednesday.

Danny Welbeck could also be deployed against his former side, while Alexis Sanchez could move into a central role should Wenger bring Alex Iwobi back into the starting XI.

Despite being in November, the Premier League title race is over according to some people. Manchester City have been that good so far that they already have a commanding eight-point lead over Manchester United in second. Arsenal are 12 points behind City and that already looks to be too big a mountain to climb, even more so when you factor in just how irresistible City have looked while building that gap.

The big thing in Arsenal’s favour when it comes to the League Cup is that their main rivals are all hoping for a long run in the Champions League, something which could distract them from the lesser-light midweek ties of the League Cup. This attitude could leave the door open for Arsenal, of course, providing they get past their quarter-final opponents, West Ham.

Arsenal will continue to play their younger players in the tournament, but this season we have seen them mix in a lot of more experienced players in their line-ups. Despite playing Championship team Norwich in the last round, Arsenal played both Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott in attack in what was a far more experienced line up than many predicted for the game. Expect to see them play even stronger line-ups should they reach the semi-final stage, while their main rivals may play weakened teams due to their Champions League commitments.

Arsenal appear to have a great chance of winning the League Cup, and many things are going in their favour. Many punters have taken advantage of Oddschecker free bet offers on Arsenal’s 6/1 price, and should they beat West Ham and make the semi-finals, that price will contract dramatically.

While Arsenal haven’t done anything hugely wrong this season, they have looked like they lack the power to challenge for the league title, and a top-four battle is far more likely for them. That means their best chance of silverware will come in the various cup competitions they are involved in, with the League Cup looking like it will offer them the best chance of winning something.

The timing of the quarter-finals and semi-finals works in Arsenal’s favour, with many other clubs potentially having other games to deal with. That could open the door for Arsenal, and could help them lift the League Cup trophy this season.

]]>http://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?feed=rss2&p=21470Inter Milan still interested in signing Shkodran Mustafihttp://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?p=2145
http://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?p=2145#respondSat, 25 Nov 2017 21:58:37 +0000http://www.arsenaltalk.co.uk/?p=2145Any future attempts by Serie A giants Internazionale’s to sign Arsenal’s and Germany international Shkodran Mustafi could come back to life until next summer, as any chance to sign him to San Siro in January looks far too unrealistic according to reports.

The Milan outfit are long-term admirers of the Arsenal centre-back and have previously tried to hold talks with his agent with a view to bringing him to Italy during the winter.

According to Italian outlet La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Germany international was close to confirming the move to Inter earlier this summer, but nothing was concluded.

However, Mustafi’s glorious return to the team, which saw him crowned the hero after finding the net in Arsenal’s 2-0 win against Tottenham, have led both him and Inter to reconsider the deal.

Therefore, Gazzetta says, he will probably remain in London until the end of the season and will decide his future only then.

Despite the Serie A’s interest, Mustafi has a good relationship with Gunners boss Arsene Wenger, who could be a key factor in his decision.

He would not be new to Italian football, as he played for Sampdoria before he made the move to Valencia in 2006.

Although Juventus were also reported as interested in him earlier this summer, reports in Italy suggest that Inter would be the only destination Mustafi’s considering other than Arsenal.

In the report, it went further revealing Mustafi will probably remain in Arsenal until the end of the season and will decide his future only then.